Biding its time until UWB, the Bluetooth SIG has announced "Bluetooth High …

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Last November, we covered the Bluetooth SIG's decision to adopt WiFi technology as a stopgap measure while the organization waits on ultrawideband (UWB) technology to become readily available. The Bluetooth SIG formalized the move this weekend and announced it would add a "smart" 802.11 option in future Bluetooth devices. The new standard, Bluetooth High Speed, will be capable of switching to a high speed/high power consumption 802.11 radio for larger file transfers, but will fall back to Bluetooth whenever 802.11 isn't necessary.

"This is the wireless technology equivalent of 'low hanging fruit,'" said Michael Foley, Ph.D., executive director of the Bluetooth SIG in a statement provided to Ars Technica. "What we're doing is taking classic Bluetooth connections—using Bluetooth protocols, profiles, security and other architectural elements–and allowing it to jump on top of the already present 802.11 radio, when necessary, to send bulky entertainment data, faster. When the speed of 802.11 is overkill, the connection returns to normal operation on a Bluetooth radio for optimal power management and performance."

Devices that make use of both Bluetooth and WiFi are already available, but such implementations use two separate chips to provide support for the two standards. Under the new standard, device manufacturers would be able to provide simultaneous support via a single chip, saving both money and power in the process.

Even though WiFi isn't Bluetooth SIG's first choice for high-speed connectivity, adding 802.11 support will allow Bluetooth devices to perform a much wider array of functions. Copying videos, MP3s, or any other sorts of data will be a generally simpler and faster affair, and the phone or device in question will automatically revert back to Bluetooth once the synchronization is complete. Individuals should theoretically be able to control when (or even if) Bluetooth High Speed devices flip from one networking standard to the other, assuming device manufacturers expose such hardware controls. Such devices should be available in the somewhat near future, with prototypes shipping in 2008, a published spec in mid-2009, and actual devices based on Bluetooth+802.11n before the end of next year.

Moving forward, Bluetooth SIG still intends to adopt UWB (ultrawideband) technology when it becomes widely available. Long-term, Bluetooth SIG is emphasizing the growth of Bluetooth as a connectivity standard rather than focusing on Bluetooth as a unique radio technology. The organizational body's willingness to adopt multiple radio technologies in order to achieve its end goal of improving device security, communication, and speed is one example of Bluetooth's gradual transformation since the technology first became available.